Author: Leo Colon

Submit to Instruction from God, because it is from God.: “KJV
Mark 9:36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, 
Mark 9:37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

NLT
Mark 9:36 ¶ Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 
Mark 9:37 ‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes my Father who sent me.’

Grace and peace be unto you, from God our Father, and from the LORD Jesus Christ. Beloved, today we want to look at the habit of submission. Submission as it pertains to a Kingdom mindset has very different ramifications, then it does in the secular experience. Of course our secular experience, and by that I do mean American secularism, is defined by our democratic experiment. It is in fact an existence that has done its level best to throw off any kingdom habits. So many of us may not really have a frame of reference by which to deal with this passage. Maybe if we are familiar with military institutions, this passage can be understood in the manner it was meant to be understood. Let’s look at the text, and make a few correlations. 
The context of the verse is this. The disciples were discussing which of them will be great in the kingdom. Ok, we have heard many preachers pontificate on how selfish this discussion is. How self-centered this argument is. We have been admonished not to engage in any self serving discussion like this, for they can only lead to ruin. Well, the problem with that kind of encouragement is that it is purely the opinion of the preacher. When we look at the text in verse 35, we do not find Jesus rebuking anyone, nor is he discouraging them to attain greatness in the Kingdom. Let’s look at the text. 

KJV
Mark 9:35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

NLT
Mark 9:35 He sat down and called the twelve disciples over to him. Then he said, ‘Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.’ 

The narrative tells us, he sat the twelve down and explained how to reach the goal of being the greatest in the Kingdom. So beloved, it is not a crime to want to be one who has distinguished oneself in the Kingdom of God. The problem is that the way to achieve this distinction is antithetical to the normative paradigm of our American modernity. Today, we achieve greatness if you can out do the next person. Can you sing better, can you run faster, can you preach better, can you write better, do you have more than the next person, and in all of these accomplishments the focus is always on you. Jesus says, not so in the Kingdom, the focus in the Kingdom is on doing the will of your King, and his will is that you serve. How do you serve? You assess the need of someone else and meet it on their terms, not yours. Notice Jesus never chides them on their desire to be great. He says your desire is met by service. What service have you done? What does this mean? Service means you invest in someone else that can not pay you back. It means the important part of your endeavor is seeing the goal met, not getting a thank you, or an acknowledgement by the Pastor or your boss. What do you do just because someone else needs it? Do you do it because the money is good or because God desires it. Now in order to be of service means you should be prepared to serve. You can not be a good servant and be ignorant. A driver who does not know where he is going is soon dismissed. A body guard who refuses to confront someone, is no good to anyone. So in order to be a good servant you should prepare. You should be prepared to do the task asked of you with excellence. So a good servant is not ignorant, he or she is astute, sharp, a learned one would say even an expert in his or her field. The proviso is he does not need the accolades. That is how you become great in the Kingdom of God. Then Jesus makes his next point while discussing greatness. One can not be truly great and not have the proper disposition. You know what I mean, some people are so wonderful they can not be instructed. They can not be admonished, advised or corrected by anyone, because they have been saved to long. Or if they are going to be corrected, the person doing so must be of a certain status. Here is how Jesus says we are to achieve the right attitude. 

KJV
Mark 9:36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, 
Mark 9:37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

NLT
Mark 9:36 ¶ Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 
Mark 9:37 ‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes my Father who sent me.’

Jesus says if you are so pliable that you can receive anyone in my name, even a child, you have the right attitude, and this is the way to be great. The distinction here is awesome. A child does not know what an adult knows, by reason of his youth. So it is not normative  for an adult to receive instructions from a child, and rightly so. Jesus is not saying, you should be led by a child. What he is saying, is that you must be so willing to receive any mandate that comes from me, that even if it comes in a way you do not expect it, your submission to me makes the sender a non-issue. If the word of the LORD comes from an unexpected source, can you follow God? Understand, Jesus says if you reject my instruction because of the messenger, you reject not the messenger, but the person who sent the message. So it is impossible to claim obedience to God, and reject Jesus, on the basis that he does not conform to what you think the Messiah should look like. Are you willing to obey God, no matter how the instruction comes? Jesus teaches us the important thing here is the source of your instruction, not the messenger. Determine what is God telling you, then receive God’s instruction. Do what he says because you honor the source of this knowledge. A child is often taught that instructions from an adult is to be obeyed, because the instruction is coming from an adult. If the instruction is coming from a trusted adult, the child is to assume that the adult a) knows more than the child, and b) has the child’s best interests in mind. Well God knows more than you do, and beloved God has your best interests in mind. 

Remember catechism resumes tomorrow. I want to take the time to thank all of you for pitching in and making our Sixth Anniversary a success. You all did an outstanding job. Also on this Saturday, I am looking for all you to meet us at the church to start our street evangelism. We are going to go into the street, and pray for people. Some of you have never done it before, this does not make you ill-prepared. Come out, we need all of you, and you need to obey God. What does God say about this?

KJV
Luke 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

NLT
Luke 14:23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. 

Yours Because I’m His
Leo Colon
pastor@ihpfwc.org
http://www.ihpfwc.org
“

(Via .)

The Holy Habit of Believing: “Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Grace and peace be unto you, from God our Father, and from the LORD Jesus Christ. Beloved this week we are going to look at the holy habit of belief. We have heard so many sermons on what it means to believe, have faith, trust in God. We have also engaged in many discussions with believers, and non-believers alike, about the logic of belief, in the face of overwhelming evidence, that faith is a foolish endeavor. What is the definition of belief.
Belief is an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists. This presents a rather scary problem when examining this text. First of all, when looking at the context of this text, we have a few problems staring us in the face. First of all, the custom of the time, is that in the case of young children, the mother is the primary caretaker of any child till the age of 13, when if the child is male, he then moves into his father’s care. The word used for son suggest that the boy was not yet 13, so we understand that the fact that the father is involved at this point means several other avenues were exhausted.
He now has resorted to leaving the ranks of the medical field, to get the help of a popular rabbi, and prophet, who has gained some fame for healing many.
Now I need you to look at this problem. According to this verse, the problem is this demonic activity has been going on for years. The threat of bodily harm has been a constant problem. The facts are not only indisputable, but they are not at all a secret. You see it is rough when the thing you go to God for, is so far gone, it can no longer be kept under wraps. With all this, a father, desperate, sets out to find this Jesus who has healed others and may be able to help him. When he finally comes face to face with this prophet, Jesus says to him the answer is for the father to ignore what he and his family has been going through for years, and believe the word of Prophet, who has not been through it. Ignore the fact that he has a real problem and believe that his problem can be dealt with by adjusting his belief. The real threat of the health of his son, is to be solve by his accepting the power of God.
Here is the challenge we have. What we believe defines us. What we believe also dictates what we will do. The problem is that many of our beliefs have been tempered by what we understand to be facts. This poor man is being asked to believe that healing he has not seen, despite his multiple attempts through other legitimate channels will now work because a preacher tells him to believe that it will. This is crazy, and also a bit condescending. It is crazy because Jesus is talking about faith and he has never examined the boy. He does not know the family, he has not conducted any test. He has not prescribed any medicinal solutions. He has not displayed any competence in any field either in medical or psychiatric, that would put any family at ease. Yet he takes the time to almost blame this on the very person seeking the solution. Follow this logic. Would we have any right to be able to accuse a father of not believing when he took the time to seek Jesus out. He even had occasion to be found in the midst of an argument with the disciples. Yet with him in his presence, Jesus says your problem is you do not believe. Question, how many things do we do everyday, that because of our past, we really do not believe will work. How many times do we waste our time doing things even though we know somewhere in the pit of our stomach, this will not work out. We approach things with this attitude, and many time engage in self fulfilling prophecies. We know we are not going to get the job, but we go to the interview any way. Sometimes our doubt has nothing to do with any facts, just our fear.
Jesus’ admonishes the father to believe. You see belief fosters an attitude of expectancy. If we engage in the habit of believing God, we will tend to live in expectancy. Why is this important? When we operate in expectancy, we do not accept eventuality. So many of us except things we have no business accepting. The awesome thing in this text is the fathers answer. Lord I believe, but help thou my unbelief. I will accept as true, what you are telling me, but where my mind prevents me from accepting your truth Lord, negate my logic, and assist me to think correctly. Many of our problems come from the wrong mindset. We can not achieve a positive outcome from a negative mindset. God is not asking us to believe in fairy tales, he is asking us to believe his word, believe him. Beloved, his word will always be more real than our perception of what is real. Believe God. Believe his word, even when your past tells you it can not be done. You believe, and God will.

Yours Because I’m His
Leo Colon
pastor@ihpfwc.org
http://www.ihpfwc.org

“

(Via .)

Team Work: “Mark 6:7 ¶ And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
Mark 6:8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
Mark 6:9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
Mark 6:10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
Mark 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Mark 6:12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
Mark 6:13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

Grace and peace be unto you, from God our father and from the LORD Jesus Christ. Beloved, today we will look at the holy habit of Teaming. This text is a wonderful pericope with lots of lessons for us, this day we want to look at what Jesus established. The broad strokes of this text is simply this, Jesus sent the disciples on a preaching assignment. When we take a closer look there are some lessons for us to learn. Verse 7 tells us some awesome things:
Mark 6:7 ¶ And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits.

He called them, then he sent them. Now, for most of us, that would be a deep truth, that one would think is a sermon all it’s own. OK, but I want to take a more pragmatic look at this text. Jesus assembled them to give them instruction. Then he sent them out to follow the instruction. Then equipped them to deal with problems that will undoubtedly arise from following Jesus’ instruction. He gathered them together, when he did this he gave them instructions on how to carry out this ministry he was sending them on. He told them what to preach. How to go out. Then he told them what tools were necessary. They received instructions together. God did not give them a private revelation on how to engage in ministry. I think many of us make this common mistake here. We think that God must pull us aside to tell us how to be successful, and that the information should be something God has told no one else. Our success in anything, is tied to the word of God. The thing that makes us special is that we obey the word of God. Many times, there is no secret handshake, no fraternal secrets to success, just obedience. Jesus said it this way,
John 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
Jesus makes a point of not only giving us instruction, but telling us how to go about this ministry. Two by two is the model we find here. Yes we can impose upon this text the mantra of Deut 32:30, one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. Well, we can not prove from the text that this is what Jesus had in mind, but we can intimate from this passage that ministry is not something that should be taken lightly, nor should one feel that they alone are all that God needs to bring his purpose to pass. God wants us to go into the world and confront non-believers with the gospel, but we need not take off on our own and avail ourselves to the dangers of ministry. Why, well let’s look again at the text. In the Gospel according to Matthew, there are few more details in chapter 10. Not only did he send them out to preach, he told them what to preach. Preach ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand’, now picture that. I wonder if preachers today really rely on God for instruction as to what to preach.
Well that’s another subject, the instruction is so radical that according to all the narratives including this one, he gives them power over unclean spirits. Imagine to be equipped with instruction to preach a particular sermon, and in order to do this, Jesus must equip you with power over unclean spirits, and someone to team up with. Preaching in obedience to God, meaning doing it because he called, and sent you to preach, and subsequently preaching what he told you to preach, is such a powerful effort, demons become agitated. Look at the text, before Jesus sends them, he equips them with power over unclean spirits. So this tells me, preaching what Jesus tells you to preach, causes unclean spirits to expose themselves, and present themselves in such a way as to be a point of conflict for the preacher. The preacher must be prepared to deal with this spirit.
This text also suggests God wants us to lean on each other. We lean on each other, but depend on God. In order to guarantee that we depend on him, he limits what we can bring on the journey. You and I both know that we tend to think our sustenance are in things, until God has a way of making us trust him. Do not take your wallet, I will provide for you, do not take a script, I will speak for you, do not take any bread, I will feed you. You can take another person with you. Could it be that God wanted to provide us with a witness to his ability to care for us. Also we learn having another person with us, does not make God unnecessary. As a matter of fact, Jesus planned things in such a way, that in order to carry out his plan, we will have to believe God together, and I think this is the real intent. We need to learn to trust God together, for each other. I need to pray for you, I know I need you to pray for me. We need to be able to trust God together, even though we are equipped by God to carry out the task, we need to believe God together. So this makes us not only a team in purpose, but also a team in faith. Can you stretch your faith enough to include someone else? Can you rejoice when God does something for someone else? Whatever church you are a part of, it is your responsibility to pray for the vision of your community. Pray for your Pastor, why, because you are in this together. Pray and believe God for your brother, and your sister in Christ, because you are in this walk together. God wants you to do this together, as a team. He also demands that as a team you depend on him to give you success. That is really where our strength lies.

Yours Because I’m His
Leo Colon
pastor@ihpfwc.org
http://www.ihpfwc.org
“

(Via .)

Persistence: “Mark 2:1-12 
Mark 2:1 ¶ And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 
Mark 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 
Mark 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 
Mark 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 
Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mark 2:6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 
Mark 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 
Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Mark 2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
Mark 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 
Mark 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
Mark 2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. 

Beloved this week we want to take a look at the holy habit of persistence. The word persistence is define as thus:
persistence |pərˈsistəns|
noun
1. firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition : companies must have patience and persistence, but the rewards are there.
2. the continued or prolonged existence of something : the persistence of huge environmental problems.

Webster gives us two meanings, and we see both manifestations here. First definition is firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action. The the second meaning is the continued or prolonged existence of something. In this pericope we see both examples. We see the firm and obstinate continuance of four men who want to get their friend to Jesus. We also see the continued and prolonged existence of commitment to tradition at the cost of truth. One is laudable and one is tragic. Let’s look at the text.  
The Text tells us that four men wanted to get their friend to Jesus. According to what we can prove from the text, they believed that proximity to Jesus renders sickness ineffective. What ever the problem facing the individual, if we can just get the person in the presence of Jesus, the issue has to change. Their believed this so strongly that they agreed to take their friend to Jesus. We can deduce that they wanted their friend to be healed. We have proof from the scripture that Jesus had in fact been healing many people, and we can infer that healing is what they wanted for their friend. Their belief was so strong that it dictated their actions. What you believe will always be manifested in your actions. The same can be said for what you do not believe. If I know what you believe, one can almost predict your actions. These four believed that Jesus can heal their friend so much that it sparked an urgency that can only be described as persistence. The bible tells us that their belief was met by a logistical problem. Verse 2 tells us that the house where Jesus did his teaching was so packed that there was not room to receive those who wanted to hear Jesus, let alone the four guys who wanted to get their friend to Jesus. Verse 4 tells us they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd. Does the fact that there is a crowd around the truth change your mind? Does the fact that believing in God’s word, which will make you an outcast, change what you believe? These men faced with a logistical problem, did not abandon what they believe. Because they still believed that Jesus can heal, they persisted. When we invite people to church, to get them close to Jesus, we come against objection all the time. Here is the real issue, what do you believe? Your belief determines your persistence. Your belief determines your actions. This is a universal law. These four men had a few problems, the crowd presented the biggest problem. Their was in fact a crowd, but they still believed something, so they persisted. They could not go in through the door, but they still believed so they persisted. These four determined to get their friend to Jesus decided to tear open the roof. Allow me to proffer this position beloved. The roof is just another objection. The roof is only a way to keep you from your purpose. Persistence is tested by the roofs in our lives. What are some of the roofs you face every day. What about the roofs people build when you are trying to get them to Jesus. Your belief in Jesus should engender persistence in your purpose to get people to Jesus. Tear the roofs that people build to prevent you from getting them to Jesus. I am busy on Sunday I can not make it to church. This is a roof. I have not been to church in so long. That’s a roof. I do not believe in that stuff. That’s a roof. Are you prepared to be persistent. Then tear open those roofs, and believe that Jesus can change lives. Are you Persistent? You need to make this a ‘holy habit’ today. Invite some people to church, and do not allow them to build a roof in front of you. Do you believe it? Then nothing can stop you. 

Yours Because I’m His
Leo Colon
pastor@ihpfwc.org
http://www.ihpfwc.org